---

   FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
        Shawn Steele, Digest Janitor
        Thanks to Rob Gardner for making the digest happen!

Contents:
  s/s brew pots (homebrew at ix.netcom.com)
  RE: Heating element risks (Gary Pelton)
  Drying of Hops (mkril at sprynet.com)
  Wyeast 2112 California lager yeast (ksmith2 at wingsbbs.com)
  Better Brewing through Seltzer (KennyEddy at aol.com)
  Dehydrators for drying hops (Michael Gerholdt)
  Non-existest CD-ROM (Bill Rust)
  Simple newbie question.. ("John C. Nanas")
  Re: Electrical Safety 101 (Phil Slotter)
  World Homebrew Contest? (Nancy or Jeff Renner)
  Secondary, Scales ("Gregg A. Howard")
  Removing hop detritus (Richard Buckberg)
  Re: timing of racking to secondary, bleach (john paul krehbiel)
  Re: Late harvest hops (Miguel de Salas)
  Filtering Beer (Pete)
  Direct to Minikegs, CIder beer ("David R. Burley")
  Re: electrical safety 101 ((Mike Uchima))
  African (Benin) Beer? (Ray Ortgiesen)
  Re: Pumpkin,Newbie, (RUSt1d?)
  re:  Wyeast American Ales, #1272, #1056 (DEBOLT BRUCE)
  hops in compost (Dave Broughton - PICCO)
  Colonial Beer Styles and Recipes (Tjpenn at aol.com)
  Sheepish grin (RANDY ERICKSON)
  Re: electricity 101 (Gregory King)
  seltzer != club soda (Gregory King)

For SUBMISSIONS to be published, send mail to:
  homebrew at aob.org
For (UN)SUBSCRIBE requests, send mail to:
  homebrew-digest-request@ aob.org
  and include ONLY subscribe or unsubscribe in the BODY of the message.

Please note that if subscribed via BEER-L, you must unsubscribe by sending
  a one line e-mail to listserv at ua1vm.ua.edu that says: UNSUB BEER-L
If your address is changing, please unsubscribe from the old address and
  then subscribe from the new address.
If your account is being deleted, please be courteous and unsubscribe first.
For technical problems send e-mail to the Digest Janitor, shawn at aob.org.

OTHER HOMEBREW INFORMATION
  http://www.aob.org/aob - The AHA's web site.
  http://alpha.rollanet.org - "The Brewery" and the Cat's Meow Archives.
  info at aob.org - automated e-mail homebrewing information.

ARCHIVES:
  At ftp.stanford.edu in /pub/clubs/homebrew/beer via anonymous ftp.  Also
  http://alpha.rollanet.org on the web and at majordomo at aob.org by e-mail.

COPYRIGHT:
  As with all forums such as this one, copyrights are retained by the
  original authors. In accordance with the wishes of the members of the
  Homebrew Digest, posts to the HBD may NOT be sold or used as part of a
  collection that is sold without the original authors' consent. Copies
  may ONLY be made available at no charge and should include the current
  posting and subscription addresses for the HBD.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: homebrew at ix.netcom.com
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 06:55:27 -0700
Subject: s/s brew pots

With regard to T. Galley's post in HBD 2168, concerning S/S brew pots:  Tom, 
I work for a Foodservice Engineering Consultant (sounds important, Huh?). 
What we do is provide bid documents to Foodservice equipment dealers (I 
suspect where you were looking in the Houston area for your pot).  Not to 
malign foodservice equipment dealers but what they do to the average Joe off 
the street is charge approx. 200% for any equipment.  Because I work with my 
local area dealers regularly, I know how they operate.  The acutual price 
for a 40 QT. vollrath s/s stock pot (minus the lid which is $20-30) is 
something like $89.00 net cost (I have a current price list in my office). 
If you allow the dealer 10% on cost (which is a respectable profit) plus 
shipping (which BTW, they usually get shipping for free)  it should cost you 
about $100.  Now for a lid, I just use a round pizza pan.  Additionally, the 
foodservice industry has alot of handy equipment that works into anyone's 
brew setup (i.e. Rubbermaid 10 gal hot/cold beverage cooler - mash & lauter 
maybe???).  Just watch out how much you are being charged.  Cheers. 
 
K. Sprague 
 

Return to table of contents


From: Gary Pelton <Gary_Pelton at brachia.soar.cs.cmu.edu>
Date: Mon, 02 Sep 1996 10:34:15 -0400
Subject: RE: Heating element risks

> 
> From: "Robert L. Schroeder" <sparky40 at loop.com> writes 
>         One more thing about the heating elements at the risk of beating it 
> to death.It sounds like the suggestion was to run an element rated at 240 
> volts  at  120 volts. This is not always a good idea without some modification 
> to the element. Amps and Volts are inversly proportional. The higher the 
> volts ( given a constant resistence) the lower the amps. In this instance, 
> the lower the volts(120 down from 240) the Higher the amps, and amperage is 
> what fries things. 
>         If you run an element rated for 240 at 120, watch your figures, 
> watch your hardware(wires,plugs etc.) and if you see smoke RUN. 
 
This is just WRONG. For DC circuits (which this is not but are 
easier to talk about.) the equation for power is 
      power used = volts * current. 
 
The equation for the current is: 
      current = voltage/resistance 
 
Assuming constant resistance, the power will go down by 4 when the 
voltage is halved. For AC circuits in this case it works out the same. 
 
Someone pointed out that the resistance is not constant. However, 
I don't believe the change in resistance is large enough that 240 
volts is safe and 120 volts is not. In particular, many people successfully 
and safely use these heating elements in this manner 
 
Gary 
 

Return to table of contents


From: mkril at sprynet.com
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 07:45:33 -0700
Subject: Drying of Hops

Hi All - 
 
To those of you who asked about drying hops in a food dehydrator, I have done 
this over the past couple of years. I found that drying them overnight at about
100F worked well. Just make sure that you lay them out in a single layer. 
 
Mike 

Return to table of contents


From: ksmith2 at wingsbbs.com
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 11:00:54 +0000
Subject: Wyeast 2112 California lager yeast

Hello HBDers 
 
Sorry if this is a repost, but I did not get my normal 'message 
recieved' from the system, so here goes again... 
 
A couple weeks ago, we brewed our first California Common and used 
Wyeast 2112 California Lager yeast. After 2 weeks, the fermentation 
is still going pretty steady and I was curious if anyone else had 
this experience with this yeast and if its normal or not. It has 
still not clarified in the secondary and I am a bit concerned about 
it. I know, dont worry etc etc.... Any info would be appreciated.. 
E-mail ok. 
 
ksmith2 at wingsbbs.com 
 
Ken Smith 
 
Tropheus Brewing Co VyLtd 
 

Return to table of contents


From: KennyEddy at aol.com
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 11:21:05 -0400
Subject: Better Brewing through Seltzer

Hey AJ!!  Great to see ya back in action. 
 
AJ wrote: 
 
> Greg King suggested dissolving chalk in selzer. There is one caveat and 
> that is that selzer water often contains other minerals in fair amount. Low 
 
> sodium products are available in Yuppie stores. One can, of course, make 
> his own "selzer" by putting cold water in a Cornelius keg and pressurizing. 
 
> I get chalk to dissolve by bubbling CO2 through the vessel in which the 
> water is being prepared and, after the chalk is completely dissolved, 
> aerating until the desired pH is reached. 
 
Keep in mind that he's talking about 1 liter of seltzer in almost 20 liters 
of brew.  Even if the water had 100 ppm of X in it, this would only add 5 ppm 
in the final product.  Considering our discussion oof "to duplicate or not to 
duplicate", an error such as this is probably not terribly important in most 
brewing waters. 
 
"Making" seltzer as AJ suggests can also be done in a small container (1 
liter PET bottle) with the old tire-valve-in-the-cap trick. 
 
Ken Schwartz 
KennyEddy at aol.com 
http://members.aol.com/kennyeddy 

Return to table of contents


From: Michael Gerholdt <gerholdt at ait.fredonia.edu>
Date: Mon, 02 Sep 96 11:26:49 -0500
Subject: Dehydrators for drying hops

- -- [ From: Michael Gerholdt * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] -- 
 
Sounds to me like Orville is over-drying the hops, even at his new reduced 
heat! 
 
I have a bulky older dehydrator, about the size of a large home microwave 
oven. I can dry about 1/2 lb dried weight at a time. I put it on its 
*lowest* setting of 85^ F, and the drying process takes perhaps 4 hours 
total. The trays need to be rotated once, because of the way air moves 
through the machine; then, because the hops are piled a bit they also need 
to be shifted around once. 
 
If the hops is drying to the point that it crumbles, then that's too dry. 
Dry to the touch, and yes, crumbling with some manipulation, but not 
crisping away in to crumbled hop by touching or placing in bags. 
 
Our hops are stored in similar fashion to Orville's. If I were to open a bag 
now, they would still be mostly whole hop cones with some breakage in the 
bag. 
 
We've got about 3 lb of wild hops harvested an dried, and could probably get 
another two if we decide to. No idea what they are. Smell very citrus-like - 
especially much like grapefruit - when fresh. 
 
 
- -- 
 

Return to table of contents


From: Bill Rust <wrust at stlmpe-4.army.mil>
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 12:43:31 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Non-existest CD-ROM

Greetings Brewers, 
 
Brian Wurst has sure made us look like fools: 
>Everyone, Pay Attention! 
>Have you ever seen an advertisement for such a product? 
>Have you ever seen the product? 
>Do you have firsthand knowledge of anyone buying such a disk? 
> 
>If you answered no to the three questions above, then chances are THE 
>DAMN THING DOES NOT EXIST!  Quitcherbitchin! 
 
Boy do *I* feel silly.  Oh, by the way: 
 
  Yes, I have seen an advertisement.  In 'St. Louis Computing', to mention 
one place. 
Yes, I have seen the product, it was sold by The MARKetplace in Florisant, MO. 
  Yes, I do know somebody who bought it.  Me, for about $16 (US). 
 
_The Beer Homebrewing Guide - A Complete Reference and Tutorial on Brewing 
Beer at Home_  ISBN #1-57176-063-6, distributed by Walnut Creek CDROM 
(email: info at cdrom.com, direct your ire there) 
 
I believe there was also a review of it (and _The Beer Hunter_) in either 
Brewing Techniques or Zymurgy.  Walnut Creek sells many CDs that have 
Internet archives on them.  You can download them for free from their FTP 
site, or you can save some download time (and/or money) and purchace a 
pre-downloaded version of the entire archive on CD-ROM.  Is the CD worth the 
asking price?  Too close to call, glad I got it on sale.  Am I affiliated 
with Walnut Creek?  No. 
 
So Brian, you may want to tone down your righteous indignation a bit.  The 
offending CD-ROM *does* exist! 
 
Just happy to be of service.  BTW, has anyone gotten off the phone with 
their lawyer long anough to brew any beer lately? 
 
- ---------------------------------------------------------- 
Bill Rust, Master brewer | 
Jack Pine Savage Brewery | The Brew Cru 
Shiloh, IL        (NACE) | Get off your dead ass and brew! 
- ---------------------------------------------------------- 
 

Return to table of contents


From: "John C. Nanas" <jonnanas at sprynet.com>
Date: Mon, 02 Sep 1996 14:21:50 -0400
Subject: Simple newbie question..

Hello everyone...  I am completely new at this (as 
new as they come), and have spent some time 
reading all of the documentation that came with my 
home brewing kit, and was just wondering.. 
 
How much of a difference is there between brewing 
beer and making wine?  I know this isnt much of a 
home brewing question, but Im really curious.. 
 
Second, I noticed several mentions of 'no 
infections' in recent posts.  I haven't seen any 
warnings on infections anywhere.. Is this in 
reference to the wort or to your physical self? 
(ie, should I increase my medical coverage before 
starting?) 
 
Lastly, I checked around some of the references, 
but couldnt find a good home brewing supply store 
in the New York City area.  Im sure there is one, 
does anyone here know of any? 
 
Thanks in advance, 
John 
 
********************************** 
*   //  End transmission  //     * 
* All flames should be sent to : * 
* eatme at upurs.com   * 
********************************** 

Return to table of contents


From: Phil Slotter <pslotter at ids.net>
Date: Mon, 02 Sep 1996 14:58:05 -0400
Subject: Re: Electrical Safety 101

"Robert L. Schroeder" <sparky40 at loop.com> WROTE: 
 
>         One more thing about the heating elements at the risk of beating it 
> to death.It sounds like the suggestion was to run an element rated at 240 
> volts  at  120 volts. This is not always a good idea without some modification 
> to the element. 
>Amps and Volts are inversly proportional. 
SORRY, WRONG 
Amps and Volts are DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL 
1 Volt into 1 ohm equals 1 amp, 2 volts into 1 ohm equals 2 amps,etc 
>The higher the volts ( given a constant resistence) the lower the amps. 
The higher the volts at the same power requires lower amps 
If for instance you wire a heater rated at 4500 watts at 220 into a 110 
circuit you would then be running the heater at 1112 watts (1/4 rated 
power) 
If you do the math, half the voltage gives you one fourth the power. 
 
Happy and safe brewing 
 
  Phil Slotter 
 Flying Goat Dog Pico Brewery 

Return to table of contents


From: Nancy or Jeff Renner <nerenner at umich.edu>
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 15:01:44 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: World Homebrew Contest?

I was on vacation for a week in July and ten days in August, so I may have 
missed any discussion on this.  I haven't heard anything from Boston 
Beer Co. regarding my entry that I sent 7/10/96.  They said we'd know 
they got our entries because they'd send a T-shirt and hops.  Has anyone 
else heard? 
 
Jeff Renner in Ann Arbor, Michigan c/o nerenner at umich.edu 
 

Return to table of contents


From: "Gregg A. Howard" <102012.3350 at CompuServe.COM>
Date: 02 Sep 96 15:12:07 EDT
Subject: Secondary, Scales

   Many thanks to those who responded to my question about the utility of 
racking to a secondary fermenter.  After considering the responses, I have 
determined that there is nothing I can gain that is not offset by the hassle of
racking and the risk of infection.  The mechanical action of racking has 
sometimes seems to result in my beer falling brighter sooner, but I get the 
same
thing from leaving it in the primary a while longer.  I don't think anyone 
demonstrated that there is any actual *improvement* to beer in a secondary that
can't be duplicated by more time in the primary. No one reported autolysis in a
batch of beer; I think this is really over-sold as a danger. Also, if I let the
beer fall clear in the primary I can simply pour the next batch over the dregs 
of the first without having selected and removed the more attenuative yeast by 
racking before they all fall down. For me, the downside of racking (at least in
the summertime) is that no matter how careful I am with sanitation, I can't 
sanitize the dust in the air. I risk finding slimey white mold floating in the 
secondary that imparts a dusty, musty flavor to the beer and then causes 
gushing
after a couple of months in the bottle.  I'll probably still rack really big 
beers that need months to finish before bottling, but I won't rack an everyday 
beer again. 
 
   Ken Schwartz wrote:  <<However, I realize that a sensitive scale is not 
cheap, but finding one (garage sales?  surplus stores?  pawn shops?)>>   A few 
years ago it occurred to me that since dope dealers are major users of scales, 
a
lot of them would wind up in the hands of the police.  I then went to a Denver 
PD auction and they had literally *hundreds* of them.  I bought an odd lot of 
about twelve for $55 and discovered that: 
 
1) The nifty little electronic ones are not nearly sturdy enough; the three I 
got had been rendered useless by overstraining the piezo-electric doo-hickey 
that does the weighing. 
 
2) As long as the glass bearings are intact and nothing is bent, the standard 
Ohaus triple beam balances will keep their accuracy under a fair amount of 
abuse. 
 
3) The damned things were layered with cocaine residue. I cleaned them outdoors
and kept the receipt in case I ever have to explain why I have a coke-encrusted
scale. 
 
4) The only other folks bidding on them were pawn shop owners who sold them 
back
to dope dealers for ~$80 at their shops. 
 
   A commercial scale dealer bought the junk ones for parts.  I picked out the 
best one for myself and put the rest on consignment with a HB shop.  It was a 
stroke of luck to find the box o' scales; at the next two auctions all the 
scales went individually for $15 or $20 each.  That's still a good price 
compared to new, as long as there are no missing or bent parts. 
 
   Some (maybe most) PD's destroy them rather than put them back into 
circulation, but I talked to one suburban department that seemed interested in 
the possibility of selling them if they could be diverted from the drug trade. 
I never found time to follow up on this. 
 
Gregg A. Howard    -   Denver   -   102012.3350 at compuserve.com 
 

Return to table of contents


From: Richard Buckberg <buck at well.com>
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 15:52:13 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Removing hop detritus

 
This is a pretty basic problem for which I have not found any superior 
solutions.  Even though I rack my brew from primary to secondary fermenters, 
and sometimes pass it through sterilized folds of cheesecloth on its way to 
the priming tank, some hop detritus always finds its way into the bottles, 
especially when I use hop pellets. 
 
How do you folks keep hop detritus out of your beer, short of rigging an 
expensive filter system.  Or, are there cheap effective filters? 

Return to table of contents


From: john paul krehbiel <jpkrehbi at wam.umd.edu>
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 18:53:39 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: timing of racking to secondary, bleach

Greetings all! 
 
I am a newbie on this group, and not a particularly experienced 
homebrewer, but I have a couple of comments. 
 
As far as racking to the secondary fermenter is concerned, I do it after 
only one or two days. I feel that it is important to get the beer off of 
the trub as soon as possible. My brother, a more experienced homebrewer, 
once commented that my first brew ( a kit, canadian ale) had " that 
homebrew taste, sometimes you get it , sometimes you don't." Since I 
started racking early, I have never had that particular off taste. 
 
One disadvantage of early racking is that the foam does try to escape 
through the fermentation lock. I solve that problem by inserting the end 
of the racking tube into the hole for the lock and use it as a small 
blowoff tube. 
 
Also, my $.02 worth on bleach; I use it and have had no trouble, but I am 
paranoid about rinsing it out. I am skeptical of a shop proprietor telling 
me that something he doesn't sell is no good and that I have to use 
something he sells (I wonder why?). 
 
"Remember your way in is also my way out, 
and my zero to your power of ten equals- 
        nothing at all!" 
 

Return to table of contents


From: Miguel de Salas <mm_de at postoffice.utas.edu.au>
Date: Tue, 03 Sep 1996 09:14:40 -1000
Subject: Re: Late harvest hops

emccormi wrote: 
 
> Some plants like hard conditions and thrive more on little water 
>and nutrient than they do with copious water and all the nutrients thay 
>could ever want. Hops could be one of them. 
> If the buggers won't flower, stop watering them and feeding them. 
>They will assume times are getting tough and do their best to produce 
>seed (hop flowers). 
 
        Well, if one does his reading (I Particularly recommend Burgess), 
you will find out that to achieve a good yield of hops it is crucial that 
the hops DO have plenty of water and don't suffer any stesses (nutrient 
stresses included, but they tolerete heat). One also finds out in all 
available literature that it is very rare for hops to produce a commercial 
crop in their first year: they will produce very few cones (1-2 oz) if any 
at all. They use most reserves in their first year to establish a rootstock. 
 
        One point all authors seem to agree on is that de decapitation of 
hop plants for harvest (cutting them at the base) causes a reduction in 
yield the following year of some 25-45%. I was wandering if there would be 
any positive effect in yield the following year by cutting the flowers as 
they appear and not letting them develop, thus the plant might relocate 
those resources to an improved rootstock. I was thinking of what is often 
done with orchids, soon cutting the flowers in a small plant to avoid 
debilitating it excessively, so the plant will grow more vigorously and 
produce more flowers the following year. 
Any thoughts?? 
      Miguel 
 

Return to table of contents


From: Pete <brewer at taconic.net>
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 20:36:31 -0400
Subject: Filtering Beer

I'm curious to know if anyone has had any experience filtering beer = 
through a residential water filter. I have an Aqua Pure filter assembly = 
with a 10 micron 
element. I assume it's best to use 2 out  fittings for my keg and use = 
CO2 to push the chilled product through.Is it worth the trouble? Is 10 = 
micron a fine enough filter to remove chill haze? Does flavour get = 
filtered out with the haze? I've seen the equivelent advertised with a = 
.5 micron filter. What's the best method of sanitizing a filter? I'm = 
also interested in building a brewery out of converted sanky kegs. I'm = 
trying to decide between RIMS or a more conventional 3 level system.I've = 
never had any experience with recirculating mash. It seems it would be = 
easy to end up with a very grainy oversparged mash.    =20 
Thanks in advance, 
Pete Bruno 
brewer at taconic.net 

Return to table of contents


From: "David R. Burley" <103164.3202 at CompuServe.COM>
Date: 02 Sep 96 20:45:00 EDT
Subject: Direct to Minikegs, CIder beer

Brewsters: 
 
Alec asks for a procedure to go to his minikegs directly from the primary 
fermenter to avoid oxidation in transferring to a secondary. He thinks that 4 
or
5 days in the fermenter is enough. Basically it is OK, but you will have more 
yeast and trub deposit in the minikeg,not a real problem. 
 
I think your real problem will be a method to determine the amount of priming 
sugar to add, since it is unlikely in 4 or 5 days that  all the fermentable 
sugars will be gone and you will have 1-2% sugar still there.  You can do this 
with a hydrometer if you are sure what the FG is going to be, but if it is a 
new
brew, new malt, different temperature of ferment, etc. this will be very 
difficult to judge.  It is likely you will under or overcharge with priming 
sugar. Believe me,  the hydrometer is not an instrument to use for determining 
if a fermentation is complete or not, if you are not willing to wait several 
days and see that the SG is steady.  It can be used for estimating if the 
fermentation is finished if the FG for the brew is known. And you didn't have 
any temperature excursions, increased or decreased brewing time steps, etc. 
Bubbles on the hydrometer will give you an incorrect reading.  Failure to make 
temperature adjustments will give you an error, etc. 
 
I suggest you go to your pharmacist and buy a Clinitest *Kit* which is used by 
diabetics and will test % reducible sugars in the wort.  If this is 1/4% or 
less, the beer is fully fermented out and you can prime with your normal amount
of priming sugar. If it is higher, use this number and add less priming sugar. 
6 oz  ( by weight) of priming sugar in 5 gallons =  5X128 oz of beer is 
6X100/640 =approx 1% sugar by weight.  So if Clinitest shows 1/2% reducible 
sugar, add only 3 oz of priming sugar.  This will help prevent a mountain of 
foam or bent minikegs from excess CO2. Some HBDers recommend only about 4oz of 
sugar/5 gallons of beer as primimg for minikegs.  Do the calculations 
accordingly. 
- -------------------------------------------------------------- 
S. Railman or is it  S.R. Ailman ( Ale man)? asks for a cider beer recipe. Did 
you miss this discussion a few HBDs back?  I am attaching here an answer to a 
private e-mail on the same subject inquiry I responded to. 
 
Start with 1 gallon of cider ( sweet apple juice with NO preservatives) per a 
total of 5 gallons of beer.  Treat the (hopefully fresh) cider with 
metabisulfite ( either sodium or potassium) to the tune of 30 ppm per gallon to
prevent oxidation and knock down the bacteria and a pectic enzyme according to 
the directions from the supplier. In the case of 1 gallon of cider, take 1/8 
tsp
of metabisulfite and dissolve it in 5 tlb water and take 1 tlb of this solution
per gallon.  You can just estimate  1/8 tsp using a 1/4 tsp if that is all you 
have. Do this 12-24 hours before you plan to put it into the beer so the enzyme
can react  and the meta can dissipate. If timing is difficult, add three times 
the metabisulfite to make sure wild yeasts don't take over. Put these into the 
cider and keep it in the fridge until you will use it, hopefully only a few 
days
later.  When you add this to the beer, if there is any meta remaining ( 
unlikely), it will be reduced by a factor of five. You can check the SG of the 
cider, but it will give you about the same alcohol % as the beer, so no need to
correct for the sugar content 
 
Prepare your lager as you normally do either extract or whole grain. But 
prepare
just enough to make 4 gallons of wort (see below). Ferment it with a lager 
yeast
and after the major ferment has subsided, probably three or four days after 
pitching, add the cider.  You can add it to the secondary if you wish, but if 
you wait as I indicated you can get the benefits of not blowing off the major 
aroma components in the primary and your secondary can be used as your lagering
vessel if you wish , without too much gunk in it from the apple juice and 
yeast.
Also, you will have an excess of yeast in the primary and it will rapidly 
ferment the juice and protect it from oxidation.  After this has subsided and 
begun to clear, but still has a little fermentation going, rack it to the 
secondary carboy, let it start to clear, bottle and lager in the bottles to 
minimize oxidation which will be detrimental. 
 
I suggest you use the krausen method of adding sugar to a small amount of the 
ferment from the secondary, just like you do a starter, allow the yeast to 
adapt
to the corn sugar and bottle as soon as you see active ferment in this starter.
Add a percentage of the krausening starter to each bottle or keg. Make up 3 
cups
of  krausening starter for 48 bottles with 7/8 cups of corn or table sugar 
boiled in 1 cup of water to disssolve and sterilize the sugar , cooled to 70F 
and diluted to 3 cups with cloudy beer from the secondary, it will start in 
about 12 hrs or less, so be prepared to bottle.  3 cups is 24 oz  or 48 tlbs, 
since 1oz = 2 tlbs. Put 1 tlb into each bottle and then add the beer and cap. 
Keep at 70F or so for a week or so and then lager as you wish. 
 
I suggest this krausening method because apple and most fruit juices are very 
sensitive to oxygen and the highly active yeast acclimatized to the sugar will 
take up any oxygen that gets entrained during bottling. A fermentation at the 
upper end of the lager temperature scale, say in the low 60s F will give you 
more esters and enhance the fruitiness which should go OK with this.  If you 
want the body of a lager with the apple taste, you can make up a brew for five 
gallons of beer , but use this amount in 4 gallons of wort.  In this case, the 
applejack lager will be 20 % higher in alcohol than normal, which won't be all 
bad. I suggest this latter recipe, since the acid from the fruit will reduce 
the
mouth feel.. 
 
Good luck, keep good notes and let me know how it works out, please. 
- ------------------------------------------------------- 
 
Keep on brewin' 
 
Dave Burley 
 

Return to table of contents


From: uchima at fncrd8.fnal.gov (Mike Uchima)
Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 21:42:36 -0500
Subject: Re: electrical safety 101

In the last HBD, someone wrote: 
>         One more thing about the heating elements at the risk of beating it 
> to death.It sounds like the suggestion was to run an element rated at 240 
> volts  at  120 volts. This is not always a good idea without some modification 
> to the element. Amps and Volts are inversly proportional. The higher the 
> volts ( given a constant resistence) the lower the amps. In this instance, 
> the lower the volts(120 down from 240) the Higher the amps, and amperage is 
> what fries things. 
 
At the risk of beating it even *further* to death: 
 
This statement is just plain incorrect. Given a constant resistance, amps and 
volts are proportional, NOT inversely proportional. I think the source of your 
confusion is the fact that for a given *wattage* (i.e. the amount of power 
actually being dissipated), amps and volts are inversely proportional. But 
running a device at 1/2 the voltage -- again, assuming constant resistance -- 
will reduce the wattage by a factor of *4*. So running your 240 volt element 
at 120 volts will NOT result in a meltdown. 
 
HOWEVER, as someone else has pointed out, heating elements are NOT constant 
resistance devices: they are non-linear. At lower power, the resistance 
actually goes down, so cutting the voltage in half will reduce the power 
dissipation by something less than a factor of 4... but the power *will* still 
go down. 
 
- -- Mike Uchima 
- -- uchima at fncrd8.fnal.gov 

Return to table of contents


From: Ray Ortgiesen <wf1b at ids.net>
Date: Tue, 03 Sep 1996 00:39:50 -0400
Subject: African (Benin) Beer?

I am off to Benin(sub saharan Africa), and am curious if anyone here has any 
idea of what I can expect for beer?  My contact in Benin says that Togo and 
Nigerian beer is available, but he isn't sure of the style or quality. 
 
If you have any info for me, it's appreciated.  I did spend several hours 
scouring the net looking for the info, somehow I don't think it will be 
available on the net until I get back(and put it up). 
 
Final question, if I stumble (literally?!) into a home brewer, will the beer 
be OK to drink? I assume it would be... but I hate to assume... 
 
Cheers, Ray 
wf1b at ids.net 
 
PS. My Oktoberfest had a wild fermentation, and is the test batch for my new 
kegging system. (Had to get the homebrew info in there to avoid the 
list-police). 
 
 

Return to table of contents


From: RUSt1d? <rust1d at li.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 1996 09:57:23 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Pumpkin,Newbie,

>I was cruising through Zymurgy, Summer 1996, Vol 19 Number 2. I noticed on 
page
>83 in the "Dear Professor" column that the professor said that Sorghum is the 
>same as Millet. Boo! Send the prof back to grain school. Millet is Panicum 
>miliaceum and Sorghum is Sorghum vulgare. I think I read this same identity 
>comment in someone's book (maybe Pap?) but it is not true. 
 
Pap is the Professor... 
 

Return to table of contents


From: DEBOLT BRUCE <bdebolt at dow.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 96 11:35:05 -0400
Subject: re:  Wyeast American Ales, #1272, #1056

I've posted this info earlier, but it appears not everyone has access to 
the archives. 
 
Responding to: 
>Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 16:06:56 -0400 (EDT) 
>Subject: Re: Wyeast American II / Jet Bu 
>From: "Craig Rode" <craig.rode at sdrc.com> 
>I'm a huge fan of Wyeast 1056, which has given me excellent results. 
However, 
>my local supplier was out of that particular type, and suggested I try the 
 
>Wyeast American II.  (Number was 1112 or something like that.)  If anyone 
of 
>you gurus has experience with these two and can let me know what to expect 
 
>with it, I would greatly appreciate it. 
 
And the reply from 
>From: John Varady, <rust1d at li.com> 
>Wyeast 1272 has no business being associated with the Magnificent 1056. I 
>brewed four batches with this demon and three of them were nowhere close 
>to the 1056 version, in fact I didn't like them. The one time I used it 
>to my liking was on a Rye beer which was split fermented with each yeast. 
>The 1272 was better in this instance. YMMV. 1056 for President, Cascades' 
>for V.P. 
 
I'm not a guru but have made three styles with #1272 and enjoyed all of 
them - dry stout, IPA, and cream ale.   The dry stout and IPA did well in 
contests and the cream ale was popular with the Bud/Miller/Coors crowd. 
On the IPA I split the batch to compare to #1056.  My taste buds say the 
#1272 batch had a mellower hop bitterness than #1056, and was slightly 
preferred.  However this IPA was overly bitter anyway (forgive me for 
saying that).   Finishing gravity of #1272 was only one point higher, so no 
significant difference there.  I believe the limited information from 
Wyeast says 1272 is more flocculant and fruity than 1056.  I tend to agree, 
but haven't done enough comparisons to say for sure. 
 
I like both yeasts and intend to brew with 1272 in the future.   If you 
want malt and hop flavors to come through with minimal flavor contribution 
from the yeast then you are probably better off with #1056. 
 
Bruce DeBolt 
Houston, TX 

Return to table of contents


From: Dave Broughton - PICCO <dave at picco.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 96 09:04:39 PDT
Subject: hops in compost

In regards to a post a few days ago, I put 20 lbs of spent grain and hops in my
compost pile Friday.  By Sunday afternoon the grains and hops were composting 
great.  Better than the grass clippings, weeds and whatever that were already 
there.  So it appears that hops do not kill the compost bacteria. 
 
dlb 
 
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+ 
| David Broughton                            (206)927-6910 x30    | 
| Puyallup Integrated Circuit Company        (206)927-6673 Fax    | 
| 33838 Pacific Hwy S., Suite 211            dave at picco.com       | 
| Federal Way, WA 98003                      http://www.picco.com | 
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+ 

Return to table of contents


From: Tjpenn at aol.com
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 1996 12:16:03 -0400
Subject: Colonial Beer Styles and Recipes

I am planning to brew some "historically correct/or nearly so" beers for 
historical society celebrations this fall and winter.  I understand that the 
Quakers in Philadelphia and William Penn himself were accomplished brewers. 
 Can anyone provide me with recipes for beers from the 1680's up to about 
1800?  Or, can you point me to some references or web sites?  Any information 
would be greatly appreciated. 
 
Tom Penn 
Bordentown, NJ 
tjpenn at aol.com 

Return to table of contents


From: RANDY ERICKSON <RANDYE at mid.org>
Date: 
Subject: Sheepish grin

After a rather long-winded discussion (on my part anyway) Orville 
Deutchman (orion at mdc.net) points out that he in fact did not advocate 
hard wiring of a heater element into the electrical panel after all.  As Gilda 
Radner used to say "Never mind". 
 
BTW, did anyone else have to go out and try to find propane at 6:00 a.m. 
on Monday morning (an U.S. holiday)?  I must get a gauge for that tank! 
 
Randy in Modesto (California) 
 
 
 
 
 

Return to table of contents


From: Gregory King <GKING at ARSERRC.Gov>
Date: Tue, 03 Sep 1996 12:55:47 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: electricity 101

>        One more thing about the heating elements at the risk of beating it 
>to death.It sounds like the suggestion was to run an element rated at 240 
>volts  at  120 volts. This is not always a good idea without some modification 
>to the element. Amps and Volts are inversly proportional. The higher the 
>volts ( given a constant resistence) the lower the amps. 
 
Nope.  Amps and volts are *directly* proportional: V = I * R.  Cut the 
voltage in half and you cut the current in half (assuming constant R). 
Using P = I * V (P is power) and V = I * R you can get the relationship 
 
   P = V * V / R 
 
which is a good one to remember.  Apologies if I'm the 10th person to 
respond to this. 
 
Greg King 
gking at arserrc.gov 
Philadelphia, PA 
 

Return to table of contents


From: Gregory King <GKING at ARSERRC.Gov>
Date: Tue, 03 Sep 1996 13:05:10 -0500 (EST)
Subject: seltzer != club soda

A.J. deLange responded to my earlier post: 
 
>Greg King suggested dissolving chalk in selzer. There is one caveat and 
>that is that selzer water often contains other minerals in fair amount. 
 
I guess I should have stressed "seltzer" (which is just carbonated water) 
as opposed to "club soda" which is carbonated water with a good amount of 
sodium chloride in it.  Seltzer may not be ion-free, but 1 liter of seltzer 
diluted down to 19 liters (5 gallons) shouldn't effect your target concen- 
trations too much. 
 
Greg King 
gking at arserrc.gov 
Philadelphia, PA 
 

Return to table of contents